Judge — July 21, 1900 — page 16: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

**Top cartoon ("All That He Asked"):** A sentimental Irish-American romance joke. Pat proposes to Miss Lulu Finnegan, who asks for a month to decide. His punchline reveals impatience—he wants to know the answer *now*, undercutting his patient facade. The humor relies on Irish dialect stereotyping common in the era. **Bottom cartoon ("A Greedy Family"):** Social satire about nepotism and political corruption. Mrs. Casey and Mrs. Gilmooly gossip about the "Powers" family, who apparently have four sons on the police force and three in the fire department—public jobs typically obtained through patronage networks—yet still demand more positions. The joke critiques how politically connected families monopolized civil service jobs while ordinary citizens were excluded. "Open door" policy in China (likely referencing recent Boxer Rebellion negotiations) provides ironic contrast to closed-door favoritism at home. Both cartoons use working-class Irish-American characters and vernacular speech typical of Judge's satirical approach to immigrant communities and urban politics.